In 1957, Francis Kipps Spencer created the first Chrismon tree. She coined the term Chrismon as a combination of Christ + monogram to reflect her desire to create decorations for Christmas trees that “proclaim the name, the life, and the saving acts of Jesus the Christ.” The purpose was to make homemade ornaments to show central symbols of the Christian faith. Chrismons are traditionally white and gold to reflect the colors of the Christmas season.
Our Chrismon tree at church is lacking, however it is still one of my favorite moments with children during Advent. The church I served in El Dorado, Arkansas had a 30 foot Chrismon tree with over 200 chrismons. When I served there children would take a field trip to come see the tree. But "politically correctness" even caught up with South Arkansas and school children no longer tour the tree.
While some Chrismon trees are spectacular....ours is filled with mainly ones made by children. There's something sweet about the not so perfect chrismons on our tree.
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